Field Notes Inside an Integrated Communications Agency

There is some big news coming out of this weeks Consumer Electronics Show: 3D television from Sony!

The possibilities include: 
3D gaming (on your existing PS3 with just a firm ware update)
3D movies (starting now with "Cloudy with a chance of meatballs") 
3D sports (once they can convince the NCAA, NFL, NBA et al. to shoot with 3D capable equipment) 

WOW. Can you imagine Duke beating Carolina in 3D this spring? Oh wait, it doesn't all come out until this summer, so I'm getting ahead of myself. 

Of course, to view any of this 3D entertainment, you will need a new Sony 3D capable HDTV. For gaming, all your PS3 needs is a firmware upgrade. For movies, you'll need to acquire a 3D capable blue ray player and some 3D authored blue ray discs. 

My safe bet is that 3D at home will take forever to become commonplace. I would look at the slow adoption rate of HD over the last 7 years and multiply that by 10. I'm also willing to bet that one group of traditionally early adopters, the gamers, will jump at the opportunity to see heads exploding in their favorite 3D first-person shooter. 

However, danger looms on the horizon... Sony has stated that "other 3D compatible products such as “VAIO” and digital still camera product will also be introduced in 2010 and will facilitate the 3D experience at home." Does this means that consumers will be able to shoot and edit their own 3D content?! What's next, the 3D flip camera?!

Oh dear, this just got ugly, really ugly. Have any of your friends forced you to watch their shaky home movies on their HDTV? Now just imaging this experience in 3D. BLARRRRRGGGFFFFFFFFF!!!!!


http://www.sony.net/united/3D/#vision/message/

The ‘Canes came out with their new alternate jerseys yesterday. They held a press conference for the big roll-out on center ice. All black and not even a real hurricane warning logo on the front – but the symbol for a tropical storm. I’m certainly not rushing out for milk, bread, ice and beer.

Their explanation? ‘The symbol is what’s displayed when a possible hurricane is 36 hours from hitting shore.’ I smell that we’re about 36 hours away from Jim Rutherford taking his team somewhere that stays nice and cold year-round.

Yes, I said a million! And yes, I'm that enthusiastic about my latest project -a campaign Web site for Blue Cross Blue Shield of NC's Million Step March.

As of today, you can join the march at www.betterhealthnc.com. BCBSNC is encouraging North Carolinians to be physically active while their march team walks across the state - literally. Even more, you can join the Million Step Challenge online and track the number of steps you take throughout the campaign. There's even a nifty counter on the site to track the number of steps we take collectively, as a state.

I, for one, am proud to have worked on a project that will touch so many people in such a positive way. In fact, I may even get up and walk around the building right now!

Thanks to my teammates who made this site possible. And thanks to my client for enabling me to do work that matters.

House Bill 267 requires that all North Carolina businesses with alcohol permits sort and have collected all glass, plastics and cans. Furthermore, any new businesses wishing to obtain alcohol permits must provide proof of contracted service to have recycling picked up. I salute such a huge step in the direction of sustainability. Business owners are sure to feel the pinch, however, and there is little doubt that consumers will share in that discomfort. It's important that the General Assembly run with the ball it's picked up and not drop it. Currently only 5 of 100 counties are offering to collect businesses' recyclables. Only 51 are going to allow businesses to drop off at community collection centers. Hopefully this burden will continue to be eased. As the old adage goes, you can certainly catch more flies with honey than vinegar.

Senate Bill 862 - Smoke-free UNC - serves to:

"Allow regulation of smoking on the campuses of the UNC Health Care System, the facilities of the East Carolina School of Medicine and Physicians Practice Plan, and the buildings and grounds of the constituent institutions of the University of North Carolina."

To clarify, 'constituent institutions' means all member schools in the University of North Carolina system, and 'regulation' is defined as the prohibiting of smoking inside and within 100 linear feet of any building on the campus of any aforementioned institution. Legislation like this, and programs such as the North Carolina Health Wellness Trust Fund, are helping to shape and articulate national opinions on a number of important issues, from the economics of health care to the responsibility required of all of us in order to affect change. North Carolina is clearly ready to honor its legacy on Tobacco Road with smart, progressive decisions that will help safeguard its future.

Both pieces of legislation deserve kudos, and both have me feeling pretty great about Capstrat, and about my work that matters. To read more about new NC legislation ringing in with the new year, try these tips:

• Download the PDF . WARNING! EXTREMELY DRY READ!

• Grab your nearest Google search bar and type: "effective january 1, 2008" legislation inurl:ncleg. Takes you straight to the meaty bits. Supplement this search with additional keywords ('recycling,' for example) to further narrow the search. 

And if you see something you don't like, or otherwise have a strong opinion about, track down your representative and voice it.